McKee neighbourhood plan setback following Abbotsford City Council error

ABBOTSFORD — A procedural error is forcing Abbotsford City Council to repeat the approval process of the bylaw for the McKee Neighbourhood Plan next week.

In a news release, civic officials say the error occurred with the first and second readings of the bylaw and was only discovered after a lengthy March 6 public hearing.

It means city council will need to reintroduce the bylaw from the beginning and host another public hearing on the bylaw.

“As a municipal office, we are legislatively obligated and responsible for ensuring that when staff provide Council with proposed land use changes to the City’s Official Community Plan Bylaw, the process is done in a legally binding manner,” said City Manager, Peter Sparanese. “We apologize to the residents of Abbotsford for this error, recognizing that many residents have a vested interest in the future of this plan.”